Bechtel Corp. v. Ponte

I respectfully disagree with the Appellate Division panel’s majority decision in this case and, therefore, with the majority of this Court that upholds that decision. The panel’s majority concluded that the trial judge clearly erred by taking into account her subjective assessment of the employee’s appearance, age, physique, and tanned skin in establishing his diminished earnings capacity at a level equal to the percentage of his functional whole-body impairment. But I believe this assessment was consistent with the traditional function of the trial judge: to observe the appearance and…